38 THE SILESIAN WARS, 1740-5
Renaissance facade of the episcopal palace, where Frederick and most
of his suite were accommodated. The bishop, little Count Lichten-
stein, was a cordial host, and 'a large part of the Moravian nobility
had established themselves in that town, where the carnival was in
full train, with all the attendant comedies, masked balls and assemb-
lies' (Stille, 1764, 9).
Frederick remained in Olmiitz only a week, from 28 Januaiy to 4
February. News came during this period that the Austrians were
continuing their advance up the Danube, and Frederick prepared to
assemble his own force on the northern flank of the enemy com-
munications through Lower Austria. Altogether he had about 34,000
troops at his disposal, comprising 14,900 Prussians, more than 16,000
Saxons, and Lieutenant-General Polastron's contingent of 2,870
French.
Taking care to give a wide berth to the fortress-town of Briinn,
which was held by a frisky Austrian garrison, Frederick made his way
south-west through some of the most picturesque country of Central
Europe. The narrow tracks led at first through foggy woods and
gorges. There was, however, an interval of civilisation at Namiest,
where the royal party crossed the Oslawa by means of a modern
bridge, tastefully adorned with statues of saints. To the right a
gentleman's castle hovered over the valley, reminding one of the
king's friends of the frontispiece to the text of The Tempest (Stille,
1764, 16-7; Stille mistakenly locates this castle at Budischau). Finally
in the second week of February the army assembled between Budi-
schau, Gross-Bitesch and Gross-Meseritsch on an uneven tableland,
set with stands of pines, outcrops of rock, and innumerable lakes and
ponds. From here the force moved south across a continuous pine-
covered ridge, and sb to the vast undulating plain which led to the
Danube.
Frederick arranged his troops in quarters along the river Thaya,
whose deep and wide gorge wound below the dirty little town of
Znaym, where the king had his headquarters from 20 February to 8
March. He sent a mixed Prusso-Saxon command ranging the short
distance across Lower Austria to the Danube just above Vienna.
However, all the motions were very feeble, when we consider the size
of Frederick's army, and how close he was to the enemy capital. He
did not know the whereabouts of the Austrian forces, and he was still
unwilling to exert anything but the most indirect pressure on behalf
of the French and Bavarians in Bohemia.
In the course of March Frederick regrouped his forces a little
further to the north, so as to maintain a more effective blockade of
Briinn, and safeguard his communications with Silesia against the
depredations of the Hungarian insurrection. Frederick now installed